Copywriting.org Interviews Alan Zoldan

When I was in 7th grade, my English teacher read an essay of mine to his 9th grade students, as an example of “the kind of writing you clowns ought to be handing in.” It was all downhill from there. In Freshman English (as it was called at the time), the same ego-stroking (my work read to the class) continued. After grad school (MBA, Marketing), I figured I’d land at an ad agency or publisher. I worked as a Marketing Manager, but the part of my job that I enjoyed the most was writing the marketing materials. And the companies grew . . . And then I started up my own educational software company in 1981 (carbon dating will confirm that). And I was the K-12 MicroMedia in-house marketing department, writing catalogs, flyers, ads, press releases, and niche-focused mini-catalogs. And that company grew. After that (1989), I had two jobs (one as an Editor), but I had gotten extremely used to being my own boss. A flash of insight and a Bob Bly book (Secrets of a Freelance Copywriter: How to Make $80,000 a Year — it has since been adjusted way upward for inflation), and I was off to the freelance copywriter life — where I have lived happily ever after.